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Betsy came out of the house and waved as if expecting them. Betsy didn’t know the real details of what happened that day either. We didn’t want to put that on her. She knew what everyone else did. The rest was between me, Riven, and Becca.
Bec and I still hadn’t talked much since her phone call, just her telling us she would take care of us and saying she would contact me when she was ready.
I stood, Riven lingering behind me as if unsure what to do. Becca got out, followed by Lainey. Once Becca had Sophie out of her car seat, Betsy called out, “Are the two of you gonna come play with me? I have snacks!”
“Yay!” the girls said, Lainey taking Sophie’s hand and leading her toward the house. She was such a good big sister. She’d had to take on more responsibility than most little girls her age. She’d been through a lot, and she would remember it in ways Sophie wouldn’t. I hoped like hell we hadn’t hurt those girls, hadn’t scarred them the way the rest of us were.
“Hey,” Becca said when she reached us.
“Hey.” I wanted to hug her so bad, wanted to tell her it would be okay, but I waited, letting her run the show.
“I called my aunt. She was happy to hear from me. The girls and I are going to Washington to live with her. She has a house on a lake.”
“Wow, that’s awesome, Bec. I’m incredibly proud of you.” And I was, but I couldn’t help wondering what that meant for my relationship with them.
The silence weighed on us, no one knowing what to say, but it was Riven who broke it. “Thank you for what you did for us. For what you did for me. I’ll never be able to repay you for that, and I’m sorry I wasn’t better for you, that I couldn’t be the man you deserved—and you do deserve the whole damn world, Bec. I hope you know that.”
She swiped at the tears leaking from her eyes. “Just be the man Parrish deserves, okay? That’s all I ask. Be the man I’ve always known you are, and be good to Parrish.”
“I promise.”
“Bec…” I began, but she held a hand up.
“I know,” she replied softly. “I love you too. And no matter what happens, you’ll always be my best friend, and you’ll always be their uncle. I’m sorry I let Rex take them away from you, and no matter where we live, that will never happen again.”
“Thank you. God, thank you so much.” She stepped into my arms, and I hugged her to me, brushed my fingers through her hair while she cried.
“I want more, Parrish. For the first time in my life, I want more, and I’m going to fight to have it.”
There were no words for how that made me feel. “You’ll get it. No one deserves it more.”
We stood there for a moment, leaning on each other, loving each other. She was my family and always would be.
“Will you go with me? Drive up to Washington with us?”
“Yes. God yes.” There was nothing I wanted more.
She peeked over at Riven. “You can come too. They should get to know their uncle’s boyfriend, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to.”
“I’d love to, but I don’t think I can. Not with being on parole. It means the world to me that you asked, though.” Riven had spent a few days in jail, getting arrested the day Rex was shot. Because he was on parole and was at the scene of someone being shot, they’d locked him up until they made sure he hadn’t done anything illegal. This time it had been me there to pick him up, waiting to take him home.
“I’m sorry,” Becca replied.
“It’s okay.”
“You can go inside and see them now,” I told him, wanting Riven to know those little girls I loved so much.
He nodded, and we went to the house.
Becca, Lainey, and Sophie stayed all day, eating dinner with us and hanging out. It was incredible seeing Riven with kids. He was a little awkward with them because he hadn’t been around many kids, but he did well with them.
We spent the whole next weekend helping Becca and the girls pack. I rented a U-Haul for them, and we were going to tow her car. I was able to get the time off to drive up with them.
The property was great, and her aunt was wonderful. I could tell how much she wanted them there, and as much as I would miss them, I knew this was what was best for them. I would visit and hoped we could get to the point where Riven could visit too.
I took a rental car back home, and it was close to ten when I pulled up. Riven was waiting outside, but he wasn’t smoking. I hadn’t seen him with a cigarette at all the past month.
